Obama’s generous EMR incentives will dominate health care IT expenditures in the short-term, according to Millennium Research Group

August 10, 2009—Waltham, Massachusetts— According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, the adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) is ramping up in the US due to President Obama’s newly confirmed stimulus plan, designed to promote widespread EMR adoption by 2015. Findings from MRG’s recently released US Markets for Cardiology IT Workflow Solutions 2009 report show that hospitals and clinics are already focusing their attention on implementing EMR systems to capitalize on funding.

Integrating patient cardiology reports with EMRs allows physicians and healthcare providers to access vital patient information more easily; this contributes to better patient care and more effective use of EMRs. Besides data management and report generation capabilities, facilities can better integrate and improve the management of various types of data, including images, schedules, and inventory levels.

“Although the focus is currently on EMR adoption, heightened demand in the cardiology IT workflow systems market will follow in 2010,” says Lexie Code, Manager of the health care IT division at MRG. “In fact, a survey of over 100 catheterization labs recently conducted by MRG found that over 20% of facilities that currently do not employ a catheterization lab IT workflow solution plan on purchasing one by 2011.”

Also notable will be significant shifts occurring within the various segments of the cardiology IT workflow solutions market. For example, the echocardiography lab segment will swell over the next five years, with growth landing in the high single digits by 2013. Factors affecting this expansion will include the growing number of echocardiography labs as well as the mandate of the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL), which requires submission of case studies for accreditation in digital format beginning in 2010. This process can be greatly facilitated by echocardiography IT workflow solutions. As a result, revenues in the echocardiography lab segment alone will surpass $150 million by 2013.

MRG’s US Markets for Cardiovascular IT Workflow Solutions 2009 report covers the IT solutions markets for catheterization labs, echocardiography labs, electrocardiography (ECG) data management, and vascular lab IT workflow solutions. The report further segments each of these markets by facility type. In addition to highly detailed qualitative insights, including analysis of ongoing technological improvements and feedback from end-users, the report also contains five-year forecasts of units, average selling prices, and market values that incorporate changes wrought by the economic downturn. Market shares and an in-depth competitive analysis are also provided, presenting a deep yet comprehensive view of this rapidly evolving market.